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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

M. O. REEVES.

SPEED VARYING MECHANISM.

No. 603,067. PatentedApr. 26, 1898.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2. M. 0. REEVES. SPEED VARYING MECHANISM. No. 603,067. ,P&t611tGdAPIf.Z6, 1898.

\mlgq. a I lvi l 51535 E T (No Model.)

4 Sheets-Sheet. 3,

M. 0. REEVES. SPEED V'ARYING MECHANISM.

Patented Apr. 26, '898.

m5 nonms warms co. Smawnlru Asnn r 0 4 SheetsSheet 4.

(No Model.)

M. 0. REEVES.

' SPEED VARYING MECHANISM. No. 603,067 Patented Apr. 26,1898.

UNITED STATES PATENT @rriori.

MILTON O. REEVES, OF COLUMBUS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO THE REEVES PULLEY COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SPEED-VARYING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 603,067, dated April 26, 1898.

Application filed December 27, 1897. Serial No. 663,464:- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MILTON O. REEVES, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Columbus, in the county of Bartholomew and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Variable-Speed CounterShafts, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a counter-shaft in which the speed of a machine belted thereto may be varied, while the speed of the line-shaft remains constant, to provide a countershaft in which said variation can be accomplished without stopping the shaft or machine, and to provide means for maintaining an approximately uniform tension upon the belt in the mechanism hereinafter described, and, further, to provide a compact and efficient device.

The elementary construction of the device to which the present invention appertains is shown in Letters Patent No. 583,402, issued to me May 25, 1897, and further exemplified in Letters Patent No. 588,354, issued to myself and E. K. Hood August 17, 1897.

The device described herein consists of two parallel shafts mounted in a frame and each carrying a pair of cone-shaped driving elements splined thereto and having their conesurfaces facing each other. The driving elements are provided with projecting hubs, each of which bears against a ball-bearing thrustcollar. The corresponding collars of each pair are connected by levers pivoted half-way between the shafts and are adapted to oscillate on said pivots and move one pair of disks toward each other and simultaneously therewith move the other pair apart. A beveledged driving-belt of any desired construction, but having edges as shown in Fig. 11, or similar to that shown in Patent No. 581,770, issued to me May 4, 1897, is stretched between the driving elements, and as one pair move together the belt assumes a greater driving diameter, while the other pair move apart and the belt assumes a lesser driving diameter, thus varying the speed of one shaft relatively to the other.

It is a well-known principle that more belt is required to connect a large and a small pulley than is required to connect two pulleys of the same diameter, the mean between the large and the small,both pairsbeing spaced the same distance between centers. This diiference in length can be mathematically calculated and can also be found by geometrical construction. A number of devices have been devised to obviate the effect of this variation in'length of belt, so as to make the speedvarying mechanism of the class above described practical; but each method has heretofore possessed inherent defects which prevented highly-efficient results. One of these methods was to mount one pair of disks in such manner as to be held together by resilient means; but this was found ineffective as soon as any power was transmitted. In my Patent No. 583,402 a method of compensating for this difference is described and claimed which is very efficient on small-sized machines, but is not as efficient upon larger machines, as sufficient convexity could not be given the driving elements in order to take up or compensate for the wide variation in the length of belt required and still maintain a proper driving-surface for the belt.

The present invention is designed to provide a method equally applicable to all sizes of machines; and it primarily consists in constructing the levers with their center pivots out of line with the points of contact of the lovers upon their thrust-collars; and the invention further consists in the arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of my device; Fig. 2, a side elevation of one of the thrust-collars; Fig. 3, a cross-section of the same; Fig. 4, a side elevation of the device; Fig. 5, a section of the levers and thrust-collar; Fig. 6, a plan of the same; Fig. 7, a diagrammatic view of the lever with the pivot in line with the points of contact of the lever upon the thrust-collars, Fig. 8 a diagrammatic view of a lever with the pivot out of line with the points of contact of the lever upon the thrust-collars. Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the pivot nuts and screw; Fig. 10, a side elevation of the operating nuts and screw, and Fig. 11 is a cross-section of a driving-belt.

In order to make the action of these levers clear, I will first describe the diagrammatic views.

In Fig 7, A represents the pivot half-way between the points of contact of the lever upon thrust-collars B C. If collar represented by B was moved to the position D, collar represented by 0 would be moved to position E, the lever would assume the position indicated in dotted lines, and distance B D would equal distance OE. The position shown in dotted dash lines is the reverse to that shown in dotted lines, and B 1) equals C E. The action of this principle in a speed-varying mechanism of the class described is to move one pair of driving elements apart exactly the same distance as the other pair are moved together, or, in other words, paying out just as much belt from one as the other is supposed to take up; but, as above stated, it is a well-known principle that more belt is required for the large and small diameter than for the mean diameters and that if the belt is very loose upon the mean diameters it will gradually tighten as the disks move until it is extremely tight at the limit of movement of the driving elements. In a speed varying mechanism of the class described this tightening action takes place in both directions from the mean driving diameters.

By the hereinafter-described lever construction the belt is kept at any desired tension or any desired variations of tension.

In Fig. 8 this lever construction is diagramed and consists of a lever A, having a projection 15*, extending at right angles thereto and half-way between the points of contact 0 and D upon the thrust-collars. The pivot for the lever is located in the extension 15*. I have shown in full lines the position of the lever when the belt is upon the mean driving diameter of each pair of driving elements, one member of each pair being indicated in dotted lines. Now if the lever is moved to the position shown in dotted line it will be noticed that C has moved forward less than Dallas moved backward. This is because the thrust-collars slip along the straight line F (the shaft,) while the lever rocks upon a pivot, and the collar, approaching the perpendicular drawn from the shafts through the pivot, moves at a gradually-decreasingspeed, and at the same time that this end of the lever is moving toward this perpendicular at a decreasing speed the opposite end is moving away from. the perpendicular at an increasing speed. To augment this, as a further explanation, suppose the lever should be moved intoa position nearly parallel with the shaft. An infinitesimal movement of the lever would slip the collar on the shaft an infinite distance. In this construction the lever proper, instead of swinging upon a pivot,

swings tangentially around a circle having a radius equal to the length of extension B If the levers were moved in the opposite direction, as indicated in dotted dash lines, exactly the reverse would take place. The end receding fastest would approach the perpendicular slowest and the end approaching slowest would recede fastest.

In Fig. 1 I have shown a device embodying this principle. Mounted in a frame 1 are two parallel shafts 2 and 3. Splined on shaft 2 is a pair of cone-shaped disks or driving elements 4, having their conical surfaces facing each other. Said disks are provided with hubs 5, which bear against a ball-bearing thrust-collar 6, consisting of a circular cup part '7, adapted to slide upon the shaft and containing a hardened track 8, a ballcarrying plate 9, and a hardened track 10. The ball-plate is supported between the hardened tracks, and the hub of the disks takes against track 10, thereby relieving the disks from undue friction upon the thrust-collars. Integral with the cupped part 7 are two lugs ll,diametrically opposite each other,the purpose of which will be hereinafter more fully described. Splined to shaft 3 is a second pair of driving elements similar to those on shaft 1 and having hubs taking against similar thrust-collars. Mounted adjacent the corresponding thrust-collars of each pair of driving elements is a pair of levers 12, provided with slotted openings 13, through which lugs 11 pass, the levers resting upon shoulders ll, founded upon collars (3. The collars are held from any circumferential movement by means of washers 13, secured to lugs 11 by means of cap-screws 15.

Levers 12 are provided with an inwardlyprojecting teat or boss 16, which pivots upon adjustable nuts 17, as shown and described in Patent No. 584,402, issued to me June 15, 1897. tended to a point in the rear of shaft 2 and are provided with slotted openings 18, taking over nuts 19, working upon a right and left hand screw-threaded shaft 20. By manipulating the screw-shaft levers are moved upon their pivots. The slots 13 and 18 in levers l2 prevent the nuts and thrust-collars from clamping upon the levers while the latter are being operated. Secured transversely across the frame and outside of levers 12 are two parallel bars 21, one above and one below the frame, which take against the nuts 19. This is an important feature of construction, as the bars hold the nuts from rotating, but leave them to move longitudinally along the shaft, and also hold levers 12 upon nuts 19. This same construction is adopted with the adjusting-nuts 17; but two pairs of bars are used instead of one, they serving the same function as bars 21 and also adding stiffness to the frame.

As an illustration of the action of the levers In the form shown levers 12 are 6X.

ICC

were to be moved to the position just the reverse to that shown. It will be seen that the approaching disks slide toward each other faster than the receding disks slide apart, and this continues until the levers are parallel with each other. Now at this moment the disks are sliding at exactly the same rate of speed; but by a continued movement of the levers the approaching disks slide toward each other slower than the receding pair slide apart, or, in other Words, the rate of movement of the disks pass each other.

In a device where ver high speed is required the belt should be some tighter at the extreme diameters than at the mean diameters, and this can be accomplished by varying the length of the ofiset for the pivot.

I have shown a preferred form of frame, consisting of shaft-boxes 28, provided with cars 29, and screw-shaf t supports 30, provided with cars 31. These boxes are lined up and bolted together by means of coupling-bolts 32, passing through bars 33 on each side of the boxing and through the cars 29 and 31. Two partial frames of this construction are made and secured together by transverse bars 21 and the bars supporting nuts 17. This construction makes a very light and strongfram c.

There are a number of ways in which the levers could be constructed in order to accomplish the results of this differential movementof the driving elements, such as angular slots through which the lugs upon the thrust-collars pass, and I do not wish to limit myself to the exact lever construction shown. I claim as my invention- 1. In. a speed-varyin g mechanism, the combination of a frame, two parallel shafts mounted therein; a pair of cone-shaped driving elements splined to each shaft, the individual members of each pair adapted to slide toward or from each other upon their respective shafts; means for simultaneously sliding the approaching pair of disks at a graduallydecreasing speed, and the receding disks at a gradually-increasing speed, and a belt connecting the pairs of disks, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a speed-varying mechanism, the combination of a frame, two parallel shafts mounted therein; a pair of cone-shaped driving elements splined to each shaft, the individual members of each pair adapted to slide toward or away from each other upon their respective shafts; levers pivoted. between the shafts and connected with the driving elements so as to simultaneously slide the approaching disks at a gradual]y-deereasing speed and the receding disks at a gradually-increasing speed; a belt connecting a pair of driving elements, and means for actuating the levers, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In aspeed-varying mechanism, the combination of a frame,two parallel shafts mounted therein; a pair of cone-shaped driving elements splined to each shaft, individual members of each pair adapted to slide toward or from each other upon their respective shafts; means for simultaneously sliding the ap-- proachin g pair of driving elements at a gradually decreasing speed and the receding elements at a gradually increasing speed and arranged so as to slide the receding pair slower than the approaching pair through a part of their movement and slide the receding pair faster than the approaching pair through the remainder of their movemen t, and a belt connecting the disks, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4:. In a speed-varying mechanism, the combination of a frame; two parallel shafts mounted therein; a pair of cone-shaped driving elements splined to each shaft; a belt connecting the pairs; levers pivoted between the shafts and connecting thrust-collars, taking against the corresponding elements of each pair; said lever-pivots being out of line, with the points of contact of the lever upon the thrust-collars, in the direction of the driving elements; substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a speed-varying mechanism, the combin ation of a frame; two parallel shafts mounted therein; a pair of cone-shaped driving elements splined to each shaft; a belt connecting the pairs; thrust-collars mounted on the shafts, taking against the driving elements and provided with diametrically-projecting lugs; levers provided with slotted openings taking over said lugs and having an inwardlyprojecting teat or boss between the shafts adapted to pivot upon the frame; substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. In a speed-varying mechanism, the combination of a frame; two parallel shafts mounted therein; a pair of cone-shaped driving elements splined to each shaft; a belt connecting the pairs; thrust-collars mounted on the shafts, taking against the driving elements and provided with diametrically-projecting lugs; shoulders upon said thrust-collars and adjacent said lugs; levers provided with slotted openings taking over said lugs and resting upon said shoulders; caps secured to said lugs and taking over the levers and an inwardly projecting teat or boss between the shafts, adapted to pivot upon the frame; substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In a machine of the class described, a thrust-collar consisting of a cupped portion provided with diametrically-projecting lugs, a hardened track supported within said cupped portion, a second hardened track adapted to take against a driving element, and balls support-ed between said tracks and Within the cupped portion; substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. In a speed-varying mechanism, the combination of two parallel shafts 5 boxes support- IIC ing said shafts; side rails connecting said boxes; bars parallel with the shafts and connecting the side rails; a pair of cone-shaped driving elements mounted on each shaft;

levers pivoted between the shaft and adapted to actuate a pair of driving elements; extensions upon said levers; nuts l9,c0nneeted with said levers; a right and left hand threaded screw, 20, supporting said nuts, and bars, 21, taking over said levers and against said nuts; IO substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

MILTON O. REEVES.

W'itnesses:

E. K. H001), JOHN JEWELL. 

